2010 Christmas Letter

MERRY CHRISTMAS Dear Family & Friends -
What a wonderful time of year to take time to reflect on the past months & look forward to what lies ahead. 2010 was definitely one for the record books in the Gordon family.
About this time last year Chris & I both felt like we were supposed to pursue adoption as a means to add to our family. It was a beautiful & fast process for us. In February, we attended an initial educational seminar & turned in our huge stack of paperwork, background checks, reference letters & profile book. On March 24th we were at the Sayre Golf Course & Coach Gordon was manning his first tournament. I had taken a call from our agency earlier that day setting up an appointment for our home study & while I was at the course they called back. I assumed they needed to reschedule or something, but when I answered (in the middle for 100+ high school golfers) it was a different person. I muddled my way through the sea of boys & heard, “I’ve got someone here who has some exciting news for you.” I immediately starting bawling because I knew we had been matched with a Birth Mother! Our Birth Mom, K, then introduced herself to me, told me she was having a baby boy & wanted Chris & I to parent him! Time stood still as I tried to form words through my sobs of joy. I don’t know that I managed anything but, “thank you.” I fought my way back to Chris & had her tell him. After the tournament, Chris & I called our families & shared our exciting news. Later that night we got to share with our students that Tucker would be here soon. We sprung into action in the following days. We spent every waking moment of the next three weeks getting a nursery ready & trying to process what was about to take place in our lives.
On April 16th, we were on our way to Lawton to go with K to her doctors appointment when we got a call from her saying she thought she was in labor. We rushed to Lawton & spent the next 16 hours waiting for Tucker. Chris & I had the pleasure of being in the delivery room & I got to be K’s birthing coach. It was the most incredible labor of love I’ve ever witnessed! At 2:50 A.M. we met Tucker William Gordon! Tucker weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. & was 20 inches long. We fell in love that night in ways we could not have imagined!
Tucker has been the biggest blessing we have ever received! He is a strong, sweet, smart, laid back guy that continues to amaze us on a daily basis. He is EXACTLY the baby we have been praying for & anxiously awaiting for three years worth of trying to conceive. Tuck loves to bang on things, he eats well, goes with the flow & genuinely loves people. He’ll go to anyone & is crawling everywhere. He draws people in & everywhere we go people want to speak to him or touch his hair. We are working on learning sign language & after only a couple of weeks Tucker can already sign, “dog.” His first spoken word was & is “Dada.” His favorite things include: Thatcher (our dog), a stuffed Monkey, his Momma & playing in the floor. Tucker is eight months old & weighs about 24 pounds & is approximately 27 inches long.
Chris is still serving as Youth Minister at First Baptist, Sayre. We had our two year anniversary here & things continue to go well. We had nine students go on overseas mission trips this year & have been blessed to watch students lead out. He is also looking forward to his second golf season for Sayre High School.
In October, I began a new job as the Sayre Chamber of Commerce Director. My job is well suited for me & I continue to get more & more comfortable with my position. Tucker gets to come with me everyday & that has been a tremendous blessing! I still help Chris with the students & they LOVE Tucker. I mean he doesn’t have a chance not to be rotten when he’s constantly surrounded by teenagers who fuss over him.
Thank you to all of you who have loved us & walked through this year with us. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends & family. Thank you for loving our Baby Boy & for accepting him as part of our family. We couldn’t do life without a single one of you in it. We pray your family will have a wonderful Christmas & a happy & safe 2011.

- Love - Chris, McKenzie & Tucker Gordon